Rutland Rezoning Map

A public hearing and informational meeting on a new town zoning map will be held at 7:00 pm on Tuesday, October 14 in the Community Hall Annex. Voters will be asked at the October 20 special town meeting to adopt the map.

The new map was "created from scratch," planning board chairman Norman Anderson said. For some time, the town has been lacking a map that accurately outlined zoning. Initially there was very little land zoned for industrial use, he said and since 1961 individuals have looked for spot zoning to remedy this.

The board did exhaustive research on all town meetings and votes relative to zoning back to 1961. They also made use of a geographical information system and a planning consultant in order to make the map as precise as possible.

"We believe this map is as absolutely accurate as it can be made," he said. "We want people to come in and view the map and help us further verify the accuracy."

People who have an interest in business or industrial zones or who live near them should take a look at it, Anderson said. "This is to clarify, to get us a good base for the ongoing process of rezoning," he continued. The process will also clear up rezoning for the center of town.

Updating the zoning map has taken years, Anderson said. "It goes all the way back to Open Space regulations adopted about six years ago. It's a long process that we're wrapping up now."